- 3 days later -
1999 July 10th to Present - USA - 16 to Present
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The boat pulled onto the dock and the people rushed off to jump into family and friends' arms. People like soldiers, people of war, and people on vacay. Shaan and Zahur walked off the boat to see the big city, a city with people, airplanes, cars, technology, and safety. "This is apparently where all newcomers go when they travel to America, 'New York'." Said Zahur. Shaan looked up at all the buildings and the sky. He smiled knowing he was free from the messiness 11,250 km away. He was free, thanks to Zahur. "Thank you, Zahur." Shaan said while crying. He fell to the ground, while bowing to Zahur. "I can never repay you for this, you are my savior. Thank you truly, Zahur." He said, still crying and bowing to Zahur. "It's nothing, babe. I love you and I want us to live the life we deserve together; I can say one thing...That I would not have made it without you either." Zahur said while trying to get Shaan up. A women came over and asked, "Are you two, okay?" in bad English. Zahur looked up and said, "Yes we are, something emotional is all." The woman walked away going back to what looked like her husband and said, "Good to know, good luck!!" She then waved goodbye.
A police officer walked over to the two men and asked if they were going to be registering.
Since they were minors, they would have to have a parent available for registration they were told. The woman behind the register window looked up at both men and looked down at her paper and said, "You guys have no parents?" in a weather woman tone. Shaan opened his mouth but was disrupted by Zahur, "We do not have parents, they died." said Zahur loudly. Other people looked at them and gasped in sympathy. The woman replied, "I see. Well, we can put you both into foster care/adoption until your 18." Shaan's eyes went big, he had heard of the adoption system when he was in the army, but he never really knew if it was real. He thought of him getting a nice big family with siblings he could play with, with a mom and dad that loved him, and extended family that were old but fun. Zahur looked at Shaan and Shaan looked back, they had nodded at each other, and both yelled yes at once. The lady looked at them then went to type on her computer. "Your names?" They answered with their names and how to spell them. "Your ages?" They answered with their ages and birthdays. "The countries you've come from?" They both answered. The lady let them through the gate, they were given news that they could be let in the nearest hotel with a piece of paper and they each had 750 USD to survive for a few months before they would have to get a job.
Getting to the hotel, a man in a security uniform questioned why they were here. Zahur had passed him both of their papers and the security guard let them in quickly. They were quickly logged in and brought to a room. They expected to get the lowest of the low but instead they were given a master room. Once they walked in, they were surprised by the look and smell. There was a king-sized bed, a full bathroom with a full shower, and a mini kitchen spot with a refrigerator. Shaan had jumped onto the bed and laughed a lot. This was the first time in years he had really felt good. Zahur went to lay on Shaan's chest. "We should take a shower, we stink horribly." said Zahur. Shaan rolled away from Zahur and sat on the edge of the bed, he got up and walked toward the fridge and opened it up to see lots of drinks and food. There was turkey meat, cheese, and lots of vegetables. When he opened the cabinets there was bread, peanut butter, jelly, and bagels. He opened the last cabinet to see a toaster, coffee maker and a utensil set. He turned on the sink then turned it off, after so he went to the bathroom and did the same. He grabbed a towel and washcloth to go into the shower. As he got into the shower, he had seen body soap that he used. He smelled the body soap and said 'mm.' It was a pleasant smell, like roses that his uncle used to buy to decorate the house and sage that his grandmother would wave around his dirt-floored room. "Mm, smells like home..." He twisted the faucet to be surprised by super freezing water, his hair had gotten soaking wet, so he shook his head. He then twisted the faucet until it was the right temperature. He then stepped fully under the water and rubbed his body with soap. The soap bubbled up across his skin and the water made it go down the drain. Shaan thought to himself about the things that happened in the past few days. He felt relived. "Bae, you in there?" asked Zahur who was trying to get into the shower with him. "Yess." answered Shaan. Zahur entered the shower with Shaan and hugged him. They kissed 3 times and started talking about what to do while in America. First thing Shaan said was, "Get a job." Which was correct? Zahur agreed to go job searching the next day in the big apple. The next day Zahur went out of the hotel while Shaan was still sleeping, he was buying food from a nearby McDonalds. They had never had McDonalds because it was banned in Pakistan. He looked at the menu and couldn't really understand what it was saying, "Cheese Bugar?" Said Zahur in his rumbled accent and confused tone. He then looked at the cashier and asked what it said on the menu. The cashier could not understand Zahur accent, so she just read out the menu trying to describe the food for him through the pictures. Zahur then asked the woman to pick 2 meals for him. "I do not care what you pick but just make sure it doesn't have pork." he said in his rumbled accent. The woman nodded and picked a cheeseburger meal with a sprite and a 20-piece chicken nugget meal with a coke. It was 24 USD. Zahur pulled out his cash and paid for the food. He was given the bag with all the food and a little cup holder with the two drinks. He left the McDonalds and walked across the street back to the Hotel. He entered the hotel and took the elevator to the 9th floor to get to their room. As he got on the elevator another man goes on who looked like he was German. with his blonde hair and green eyes, they kept looking at each other. Next thing you know, the food was on the floor and this random blonde hair guy was doing things with Zahur. In the elevator. It elevated to them kissing to the blonde guy's room who we soon know as, Eugenia's. Zahur was thinking about Shaan the whole time, but he seemed not to regret what he did afterward. Afterward, he got new food and went up to him and Shaan's room. The entire time Shaan was waiting for Zahur to come back so that they could have a cute movie date in bed. Once Zahur came through the door Shaan was there to hug him tightly, thinking he was gone Shaan was crying in the shower waiting for him. Zahur questioned, "Anan, what's wrong? So much white lines under your eyes." Shaan answered, "I thought you would never come back, and you had left me for good." Zahur looked up to see the room decorated with rose petals, candles, and snacks. "Anan, you didn't have to do this. Is this for me?" Zahur said. "Yes, everything is for you, my love. I wanted to have a romantic time." Zahur felt bad for what he had done just minutes before coming to the hotel room and he wanted to tell Shaan so badly, but he did not. They had a good night together, watching movies, joking, and cuddling. "Anan, I love you..." said Zahur quietly. "I love you too, Zahur." Said Shaan.